InterContinental reports sliding profits

InterContinental Hotels Group said on Tuesday that its profits fell in the first half of the year but the owner of the Holiday Inn chain expressed confidence about the outlook. Net profit slid 30 per cent to $238 million (178 million euros) in the six months to the end of June compared with the equivalent period one year earlier, said IHG, which is the world's largest hotel operator by number of rooms. Operating profit also fell, by 16 per cent to $416 million, while revenues slipped 3.0 per cent to $908 million, added the group that owns also the InterContinental and Crowne Plaza hotel brands. ‘Looking ahead, whilst several of our key markets continue to experience some political or economic uncertainty, we are encouraged by current trading trends,’ chief executive Richard Solomons said in the earnings statement, according to AFP.